Eighty-nine percent of voters called the drought a “crisis or major problem,” with just 10 percent saying it was “minor or not a problem,” according to the poll. That’s a sharp increase since September, when the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll showed 63 percent of voters thought the drought was a major problem or crisis.

But when asked whether the drought had impacted their daily lives, just 16 percent of voters said it had made a “major impact” on their families. Forty-eight percent said it had made only a “minor impact,” according to the poll.

“When you go to turn on the faucet, the water is still coming out, so while voters understand it as a concern, it’s not happening in a way that’s impacting them directly,” said Drew Lieberman, vice president of Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, part of the bipartisan team with Republican polling firm American Viewpoint that conducted the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll.

Lower-income voters reported feeling more stretched by the water crisis, according to the poll. Among those making less than $50,000 annually, 24 percent said that the drought had made a “major impact” on their families, as compared to just 11 percent of those making $50,000 per year or more.

“The way voters are really feeling it is through their water bills,” said David Kanevsky, research director of Republican polling firm American Viewpoint.

Seeking solutions, but not at a cost

Voters were also less willing to spend taxpayer dollars on potential solutions to the water crisis.

Ninety-one percent of voters said they favored improving the state’s ability to capture storm water, but opinions changed once money came into the equation.

When asked to choose between two statements, just 36 percent of voters said the state should address water supply issues by improving storage and delivery systems, even if it costs taxpayer dollars. Compare that to 52 percent of voters who said the state should address problems without spending money by encouraging conservation.

“Support evaporates entirely when you put a price tag on it,” Lieberman said.

Voters were more closely split on whether they would be willing to pay more for their water. Forty-six percent said they would be willing to pay a higher water bill to ensure a reliable, long-term water supply, as compared to 42 percent who said their bill was high enough.

Voters were also unwilling to roll back environmental regulations to increase the water supply. Forty-six percent of voters said Californians “need to protect the environment, even if it hurts the water supply,” as compared to 36 percent who said officials should ensure the water supply even at a cost to the environment.

“Voters are not in favor of a short term fix that has long-term consequences,” Kanevsky said.

The policies favored by voters: recycling more water (92%); improving the capture of storm water (91%); storing more water in underground aquifers (83%); encouraging a voluntary 20% reduction in water use (81%); desalinating ocean water (75%); building new dams and reservoirs (65%); and instituting financial penalties for using too much water (58%).

Voters were evenly split on whether to impose a mandatory 20 percent reduction in water or to up water rates to encourage conservation and decrease use. On requiring farmers to reduce water use, 45 percent were in favor with 47 percent opposed.

The poll shows the state’s water crisis is largely a bipartisan issue – except on the issue of climate change.

Overall, 67 percent of voters thought climate change was “very or somewhat responsible” for the drought, with 28 percent saying it was just “a little or not at all responsible.”

Among Democrats, 78 percent thought climate change was “very or somewhat responsible” for the drought, as compared to just 44 percent of Republicans.

The vast majority of voters blamed not enough snow and rain as being responsible for the drought (83%), followed by: Californians using too much water (76%); old delivery systems and lack of water storage (69%); climate change (67%); too much growth and development (64%); environmental regulations (55%); and the state’s agriculture industry (54%).

Among the water habits California voters reported changing to help conserve water: 87 percent reported taking shorter showers, turning the faucet off or flushing the toilet more sparingly; and 66 percent said they reduced the frequency or amount of water they used on their lawns. Just 24 percent had removed their lawns or replaced it with drought-tolerant plants.

The latest USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, the largest statewide survey of registered voters, was conducted May 21-28 and includes a significant oversample of Latino voters as well as one of the most robust cell phone samples in the state. The full sample of 1,511 registered voters has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points.

About the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll: The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll is a series of statewide public opinion polls in California, designed to survey voter attitudes on a wide range of political, policy, social and cultural issues.

Conducted at regular intervals throughout the year, the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll is one of the largest polls of registered voters in the state and has been widely cited, helping to inform the public and to encourage discourse on key political and policy issues.

About USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is the heart of the university. The largest, oldest and most diverse of USC's 19 schools, USC Dornsife is composed of more than 30 academic departments and dozens of research centers and institutes. USC Dornsife is home to approximately 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and more than 750 faculty members with expertise across the humanities, social sciences and sciences.

About the Los Angeles Times: The Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of 2 million and 3 million on Sunday, and a combined print and interactive local weekly audience of 4.5 million. The fast-growing latimes.com draws over 10 million unique visitors monthly.